New Web Series: Gay Dad, Straight Son

A new Web series is aiming to be the Gilmore Girls for gay dads.

Just Us Guys, created by Chris Lilly, is a show about a gay father, Scott, and his straight son, Max. A twist comes when Scott's conservative mother, Joyce, moves to Los Angeles and tries to reconnect with her son.

Lilly, a relative newcomer to the entertainment industry, is raising funds to continue the project. His goal is to complete 13 episodes, each 10 minutes long.

"The first script for Just Us Guys was written as a one-hour pilot," Lilly says. "After the table read, there was such a positive energy around that experience that I just kept pushing it forward. I decided I wanted to film it. So I put a team together and that production revamped the project into a Web series. It's been a lot of fun seeing this project come to life."

Lilly and the cast of Just Us Guys plan to interact with the show's fans throughout production. Aside from having a presence on social media, he and the cast will provide behind-the-scenes footage, table reads, set photos, and videos for those who donate to his fundraising campaign.

They have even coined a name for the show's fans: JUGers.

Just Us Guys was screened in the San Diego International Comic-Con Independent Film Festival in July and the first Salt Lake City Comic-Con Film Festival in September. Lilly, who has been pursuing a career in entertainment since graduating from college in 2006, says he was inspired to put Just Us Guys together while watching the Charmed series finale, when he noticed he was paying more attention to the writing than to the acting and other elements of the show.

"In 2009, I started taking TV writing classes with UCLA Extension, where Just Us Guys was born, and haven't put the idea down since," he says.

Those interested in the fundraising campaign can view Lilly's IndieGoGo page or visit his website, where money will continue to be raised throughout production.

Contact reporter Alex Davidson on Twitter at twitter.com/adwildcat